A Richmond Circuit Court judge on Friday tossed out a lawsuit that would have blocked the transfer of the Dulles Toll Road and potentially disrupted a major source of funds for the Dulles Corridor Metrorail Project.
The suit, filed by two Northern Virginians against a handful of state transportation officials and agencies, would have halted the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority’s takeover of the road. Patrick Gray and James Nagle had argued the state lacked the authority to undertake the transfer without General Assembly permission.
MWAA plans to use toll money to fund a large part of the 23-mile Metrorail extension to Dulles, a plan that would have been complicated severely were the suit successful.
The reasoning behind Judge Margaret Spencer’s dismissal of the case was not known Friday because her subsequent letter of opinion was not available by press time. The state had sought to invalidate thecase before it went to trial, asserting “sovereign immunity” protected government agencies from lawsuits.
Patrick McSweeney, an attorney representing the plaintiffs, could not be reached. Earlier this week, he said he expected the case to be appealed, whatever the outcome of Spencer’s decision. He said the state’s claim of immunity “just throws the constitution in the trash.”
“This is one case where it probably will be taken all the way to the Supreme Court, whoever loses here,” McSweeney said.
The suit comes at a time when Virginia’s largest transit project is embroiled in controversy over costs, delays and a proposal to build a tunnel under Tysons Corner for the rail instead placing it above ground. MWAA, officials say, is weeks away from approving a contract with Bechtel and Washington Group International to design and build the first phase of the rail. The first half would run from west Falls Church to Wiehle Avenue. The entire extension, slated for completion in 2015, would run past Dulles airport and into Loudoun County.
